No photos yet today...but I can share that I did place an order for a few roses to add to he garden this Fall when it cools off. I went ahead and finally ordered Earth Song but I also ordered Beverly...you all enabled me on that one ... and Easy Does It just looks so unique and I have been curious about it for awhile so I ordered that. Then I rounded out my order with th Jean Kenneally which I have been wanting for a year now since I first saw one and thought it was so charming. I'm hoping Beverly can go somewhat near Quietness...I think the pinks would work okay near each other.

Jim, now you have grass like the rest of us. It's hard to keep it uniformly green during the hottest part of summer. I believe your Earth Song is showing off.

Baby Quietness is my only rose without thrip or heat damage. Planted in the fall of last year, so the blooms are not quite at their peak form. This is one eager rose that increases in height and produces buds at the same time. My first one, a year older than this one, is 4' tall. That's incredible for my climate.

Jim, your grass looks better than ours which is watered every other day. We not only have the usual brown areas, we have several trees whose roots are ruining the grass, causing bumpy, spots denuded of grass. Not to mention tree root suckers. All of our trees sucker horribly except for the nasty honey locust. They like to create a perpetual mess. This is the time of year, I get tired of trees, root competition, and too much shade, ruining flower beds. I know my complaint sounds awful. Jim, I see lots of spots for more roses and companion plants in your yard. You are lucky about that. I'll bet your drier weather has lessened fungal problems, and some insect problems (not thrips--those creeps like it dry). Your Earth Song is gorgeous, so it's time for me to look it up again. You have so many blooms for a hot time of year. I hope your wife's pain has lessened. She needs relief.

Pippa, you are the second person to mention Beverly (Kristine in another thread) that I've just read. Kristine said her Beverly had 200 blooms on it currently. That is amazing; so time to look up Beverly again. I don't know how cold it gets for you in winter--probably not too bad. I grew Easy Does for several years, and just one bad winter, made EDI into a little wimp that couldn't make a good comeback from the cold. So I removed it several years ago. Many love this rose, so there's definitely two sides to how good a rose Easy Does It is. I'm sure your pinks would work well next to each other.

Jim, I should have a new round of photos in a day or so. I'm really liking the purplish tan Dara, the wild carrot (grown from seed I scattered in place). It's so lacy and pretty, and goes well in my purple/wine red bed. It reseeds, but I hope doesn't invade. I would be more worried if I were in SoCal. I hope all of you are having a great summer. Diane

Flowers, we cross posted. What an incredibly lovely rose Quietness is. It sounds like it's quite vigorous, too. Your photo belongs on HMF--it's better than most of the ones in their listing. I found that my Young Lycidas now has thrips, too. even Love Song has a little thrips damage. I can't remember a worse year for thrips, and it all involves eaten out buds, as well as brown edges. So where does Quietness rank for you in relation to Rouge Royale and Leonardo? Where is Quietness being sold? Thanks--I'm always asking for your advice--so pesty of me. Diane

Diane I'm planting Easy Does It in my zone 7 garden so I think it will be warm enough. I just read Kristines post too about Beverly...I can hardly wait to try her out!

Pippa, I'm a zone 7 garden, too. I just looked up a bunch of roses that have caught my eye lately, and Louise Odier was a stand out. Too bad it's so large. It's a Bourbon that repeats, and the blooms are many and, oh so lush. I love Quietness, but I'm trying to avoid pale pink which doesn't look so good in our sun. This is my main gripe about Olivia Rose Austin. Good luck with Easy Does It. Diane

Diane I love the look of Louis Odier too...Eventually I am adding more roses to the back yard and I plan to start with the largest of the ones I like then fill in with smaller from there so maybe someday I can ffind room for a few more large roses. Hopefully my Easy Does It will make it...I feel like our winters are only getting warmer lately.

Louise Odier has been at the top of my list ever since I missed it the year Northland had it. By the time I made up my mind, they were sold out. Maybe it wouldn't get as massive on it's own roots, and in my climate. You two, Diane and Pippa, can expect her to be a very big girl.

Diane, Quietness is very pale, so you might not like it. I truly love Rouge Royale and Leo, but Quietness blooms much more than those put together. The fragrance is equal to Rouge Royale. Leo doesn't have much of a scent, altho he is the better shaped bush in my garden. RR is very upright and narrow, and Q is kind of sprawly, but they're only 1 and 2 years old. I think Moses said to prune Quietness like a hybrid tea, and I have not pruned them so far. Leo hasn't been a good bloomer this year. After his first very long flush, he's just put out a bloom here and there. Northland doesn't have Quietness listed this year, but I think it would be easy enough to find. Bet a local nursery could get one if you wanted it.

I'm sorry to hear the thrips are now going after your Young Lycidas and Love Song. Those are two of my favorites. They're branching out into deeper colors. Didn't they used to just go for light colored roses?

Pippa, I agree that Beverly and Quietness will complement each other beautifully. They seem to have very similar form in bush and bloom.

Here's Quietness before she fully opens. Something for everyone, with her hybrid tea look, then unfolds into old fashioned fluff. This one's from last year when that bush was only a year old.

Oh, dear, flowers, now you are convincing me to grow Quietness with these lovely photos. She is darker pink that the wan and pale Olivia. What got me in a dither is that you said she blooms twice as much as Leo and Rouge Royale. I've read in several places that Leo is supposed to be a continuous bloomer. If I take out Brother Cadfael, my top priority is getting a rose that blooms its head off in BB's old spot. I'm tired of looking at a big beautiful pile of green leaves and no blooms. I'm kind of a rose Philistine that way. I want some show.

Pippa and flowers, you both are making me look again at Louise Odier. I wonder if she blooms often or barely repeats. When you don't have any space to spare, you sweat blood over these small decisions. Louise would be fine in Brother Cadfael's space because it's a big one, and Brother is pretty huge and has plenty of room. Oh, these First World problems. Pippa, didn't you post a gorgeous close up of a Quietness bloom a while back? What do you think of her? Sorry to bother you so much about this stuff. Diane

I mentioned this somewhere else but I ordered quitensss and am so excited to grow it now that I see these pristine photos !!

Diane , have you popped in to the local marshals or tjmaxx ? I often find my favorite Crabtree and Evelyn in the beauty dept , for a great price . My mom loves the La source fragrance so I buy what I can and save it for Christmas. I too love the gardeners version . The rose is lovely as well !

It os so hot here, I’m doing what I can outside but also working on the babies nursery. Totally silly I know , as he will sleep in my room for a few months but there is something about having it ready that makes you feel productive! We are doing a whale theme , with blues and greys . And little other ocean creature touches . Also, we have decided on his name .. Elijah James . Very happy with that and only 3 more months to go!

Here’s a couple pics , not much to show but all I can contribute!

For some reason we get only one butterfly passing through, caught her on her daily rounds !

Belle story , such a beautiful rose

Mu husband has the oddest luck attracting these dragonflies! They come everyday to the pool , and will land on his finger like they were trained for the circus or something! There is a red one named rusty , and blue one named cobalt . Lol

Here’s the generous gardener. It immediately turned white even with a little shade so white it is ! I love it all the same . Do hope it’ll be pink in the fall

Lilly, what wonderful photos--quite unbelievable. Did that butterfly head straight into you after the photo was taken? I can't imagine getting a dragonfly photo like yours, or that it would even land on your husband's finger. Ours just zip around in endless loops. Are all your roses planted? They look lovely in sprite of the heat. Belle Story looks so sweet and delicate, as does The Generous Gardener. How neat that we get to learn your baby's name and sex ahead of time. Now I think we owe you a shower. I love the whale theme with other ocean creatures. How about a seahorse or two? Those are the neatest little guys. I hope you're feeling well in spite of the heat and are taking it easy. I do shop at TJ Maxx some and have purchased C&E things there. I'm afraid I'm a little late to grab deals. What happens is secondary dealers buy up everything and list the stuff on eBay for a huge markup. I'll never forget finally finding my favorite rose perfume from the 1970s--it was about 2/3 full. probably rancid, and cost over $300. This was actually just cologne, too. Still, I should give TZ Maxx a shot. Does La Source have a rose perfume? I have spent since 1977 trying to find a truly beautiful rose perfume that has an authentic fresh rose scent. Well, time to go out and do some watering. Take care, Lily. Diane

Diane, you can't possibly agonize over these rose decisions any more than I do. I took out so many roses last year that I thought were ideal at the time I bought them, but didn't work out for one reason or another. My mistake for not researching, so, now, I over think all the rose purchases.

About Leo. This is the first year he's been stingy, but I haven't fed him, so it's not his fault. I hope someone else who grows him will give us their take on his bloomability.

I think a lot of us grow Quietness, so please, anyone who grows this rose, how does it bloom for you? These are important questions that must be answered!

Lilyfinch, my first baby was born in October, and I remember those last 3 months of heat in So. CA in our teensy tiny duplex. My only air conditioner was a screen door but I had to keep the door closed because there was a neighbor lady who took every opportunity to peek in and try to convince me I ought to be eating raw hamburger meat. She kept hers sitting out on her counter all day and ate off of it throughout the day - in that heat. I hope you're making good use of the pool and staying as cool as possible. Once all the butterflies in the vicinity discover your garden, they'll all be over wanting a sip of nectar. The dragon fly on your husband's finger is such a cute picture. I bet Lucia was enthralled, even though it doesn't resemble a dinosaur. Your baby boy's name is just wonderful. Elijah sounds darling with Lucia.

The dragonfly whisperer...lol,,, cool stuff!

Nice pics Lilyfinch and Flowers! Thanks for posting!

I have not had much trouble with Thrips this year Nanadoll...Just very minor damage...Seen about 4 JB's and a few rose slugs but that's about it...

91 degrees today...

Flowers. That is so disgusting about that lady .. lol if I was in my Forster trimester I would have thrown up thinking about it ! Haha why on earth did she do that ? My aunt used to do that too. But out of the fridge if she was cooking .. so gross . LUcia gets a kick out of the dragonflies! She insists they only land on the pointer finger so I will hold up my pinky or thumb just to tease her . She is so into them !!

Jim , so glad to hear you don’t get many beetles . I do not miss those !!!

Lol...I couldn't possibly consider it being bothered to discuss any roses or other plants it's one of my passions :)

I just adore my Quietness...it was planted last fall and blooms almost nonstop. I love it so much! So far the bush is a nice rounded shape but it's just a baby. In the extreme heat in my dry climate it will shatter after a day but the petals don't crisp they are just gone the next day and a new gorgeous bloom is open. In more reasonable temperatures they last longer of course.

More Quietness...they didn't go through before

Flowersaremusic...the raw hamburger lady...oh how aweful for you!!!

Very nice Quietness blooms pippacovalent!

Pippa, wow what fabulous pictures of Quietness. Mine is finally settling in but none of my blooms look like yours.

Wedding cake perfection

I just wanted to check in with you guys to let you know I'm taking a break from here for a while. My sister's death has affected me in ways I never imagined, and I need some time to readjust. Add to that that my roses are struggling in the summer heat, so I don't have anything nice to share. Hopefully in a few weeks both things will be in better harmony. I really do enjoy this forum. Be back soon.

We understand robw1963 ! Prayers!

Rob, Jim said it best - we understand. When life piles up on us, taking a break can ease the stress level. Your friends here will still be here when you feel up to posting again. It doesn't matter if you have photos to share, we would just love to hear from you.

Diane , I am so embarrassed I somehow missed your comments to me !!! Thank you for looking at the pictures!! I don’t know why the dragonflies are “tame” there are two that do it ! It’s so cool! I am no where near done planting .. as you know it is way more fun to shop than do actual planting labor . Lol. But a neighbor came and took away alll the red roses !! How wonderful was that ! He was a man in his late 60s who is a long distance runner , in the most unreal shape, in 100 degree heat digging roses for his wife ! Lol basically an angel if you ask me .

Thats so frustrating that people snatch up products and resell them like that . I didn’t realize with a store like tjmaxx that would still be a business for people! I know / have seen with my eyes people buying massive amounts of bath and body works products during their sales and reselling those too. I wanted to comment I went to the Crabtree site and ewwww the new packaging is a huge turnoff . Do you agree ?! La source is a clean but kinda strong spa scent . No rose but clean soapy fresh . I like it .. but my mom loves it . :)

we are adding other sea creatures too as accents !! It’s fun to decorate. I’m probably driving my hubby crazy as I go but that’s pregnancy for ya ! All reason goes out the window and in comes hormones , lol :)

I have been MIA during our heat wave and have been trying to get caught up but as you know that's almost impossible! Wish I could remember all the wonderful pictures by who posted but just thanks for sharing them!

I think we all take a sabbatical now and then for one reason or the other and we all understand robw...

Jim - I hope your wife is feeling some better. My husband suffers from kidney stones all the time and he let one get 12mm. They blasted and blasted at the hospital with no results. So he gave up. End result was they kept growing, more and bigger, and in the middle of a snow storm in January his kidneys failed and he had to have stints put in. He finally got the VA to blast them out in two sessions but he paid dearly in pain and blood. Hope hers is more successful without the extraneous problems.

I finally got my truck back from repair after being rearended Memorial Day. I have been going crazy without it as I am always hauling something and I have not been able to get materials in for my projects as the tailgate and rear door to the topper were smashed in and would not open. So now it's too hot! I started removing the dirt for my hardscape pathway yesterday. Only lasted two hours!

I did finally get the 120' of picket fence across the front finished today. I started in April setting posts and it either rained all the time or I had tons of planting or ran out of materials every time I turned around.

The roses all plants and even the trees are horribly heat stressed. I can't believe just such a short time back I was complaining about all the rain. Our worst day was 99F with the heat index 110. As Jim said we have only had about an inch of rain all month. I am watering every 4 days and it takes me that long to get around to everything to start over again. I am raking leaves already and when I mowed Sunday the dust flew! The lawn is littered again.

An unbelievable sight - a frizzled bloom of Belinda's Dream on the ground but NOT eaten by JBs! She keeps putting out the buds but I usually never get to see the flowers.

A new daylily I ordered this year - Blueberry Sundae - described as 'color of vanilla icecream topped and edged in dark blueberry-purple'. It doesn't even look like the picture in the catalog! 3 flowers all the same and it's definitely yellow!

Our rain predicted for today amounted to just dampening my shoulders but making me run to put up tools. I should have stayed out then as now its hot and humid again. Time to roll out the hoses again!

So much happening in this post and I'm late to the party. I'd first of all like to express my condolences to you Rob. OC is a terrible scourge and now your sister is without pain. It's the one's left behind that then bear it. I'm so sorry for you and your family.

Lilyfinch, I love those pictures and the ones you posted of Luccia prior. Having a pool is the best! I can't believe how many roses you've put in already! What luck having a neighbor take away all those roses and relieving you of the guilt. Now you can start planning their replacements!

Diane, have you ever grown Maggie? She does well in the humid heat, but I'm not sure about dry heat. Perhaps Belinda's Dream could stand in for a more intense Quietness. Quietness is a BSy dud for me, but let's see now that she has been replanted in a stellar spot. Well, I thought that it was a great spot, but after all our rain last night it's sitting in a pool of water. I need to decide what to do about that. All the others around her are fine, so I don't know what's up.

My computer was going loco, so I'll continue here rather than risk losing everything! Ikaye, your pergola looks fantastic as does your fencing. Good for you! I'm also putting in a fence I got second hand around my front garden to keep the deer and passers-by out of it. I was reluctant to do it, but now that it's almost complete, I way prefer the way it looks with a secret garden sort of feeling. Plus, fences are a GREAT excuse for more climbing roses! Are you planting some on yours?

I never thought to look for C&E products at TJMAXX. I love them, but I can see why they closed their stores and it's not just competition with e-commerce. I feel they lost their core identity and tried to pander too much to trendy tastes. The entire enterprise lost its charm and the products suffered in the same way when they eliminated the essential oils and single note fragrances and products. I could never understand why they discontinued the original avocado products as the scent was ethereal. As you can probably tell, I spent a lot of time in that store over the years! : )) IMO, Instead of trying to find a rose perfume, I would look for a good rose essential oil and add that to whatever you want or use it as a single-note perfume. I should look up the ones I used to use in soap-making. Aveda used to have a fairly nice one, but I think they also have stopped selling the single-note fragrances. What is wrong with these companies?

Other than the fence, I've been busy trying to plant whatever pot pets I can. So far I've planted over 40 this season and I'm still not done, but each rose requires removing either grass or deep invasive ivy/vines so it takes a while. then I'll need to mulch. It is wonderful to finally have them in the ground where they can stretch their legs! : )) I'll try and post some pics in a bit if anyone's interested. Sorry for those I missed....I need paper and pencil to remember everyone. : (( Jim, thanks for keeping this going. I wish your wife could get better or at least only have one battle to fight at a time.

Wonderful photos lkayetwvz5 !

lkayetwvz5 ,

My wifes kidney stone was 6 mm... It successfully blasted to pieces. If it did not the doctor said, they have a tool that can go up and get it...But now we gotta hope none of those pieces cause troubles...My wifes feeling a bit better day by day...Sorry to hear about your husbands problems...

Lily, please don't be embarrassed. You are so speedy on the replies. That was wonderful about the neighbor taking those red roses. I'll bet he thought he'd struck a rose gold mine. They were quite pretty, but I understand about having your own design plans. I'm the same way. People in such good shape at that age make me a tad envious. (I just had an ice cream cone, a flavor I don't get often. It's orange sherbet/vanilla combo like a quality Dreamsicle from the 1950s when I was a kid).

Pippa, those Quietness blooms are insanely gorgeous. Will you stop with the temptations--ha? She's good enough to eat in a cone.

Jim, is that lovely bloom Carefree Celebration? I love the color (sherbet in a cone).

Rob, don't worry about taking a break. That's something we all do. And just checking in is plenty--having pretty roses to share is great, but totally not necessary. I hope you have plenty of family and friends to talk to at this time. That can really help.

Ikaye, good grief, you are a workhorse. I could never go two hours clearing dirt in this heat. I can barely walk around in it. That will be an amazing path surrounded by the long pergola. That's a huge project. Then 120 feet of picket fence. I wish I could hire you--I'd love a fence like that. I hope your husband is healing and feeling better. What a terrible thing to go through--and failing kidneys are darn serious. I hope your weather improves. Ours is in the same temp range, but without the humidity, thankfully.

Vapor, no, I haven't grown Maggie, but I remember checking out her photos on HMF. She's beautiful, too. I think the main thing with Quietness is the color. It's truly lovely, but would fade out in our sun. BS is not problem here, which is a big plus.

Flowers, thanks for your continued advice. I don't think I would go through all this overthinking a new rose if I had a little leeway when it comes to space. I still have time to agonize. You know I really like the new Austin rose, Eustacia Vye. I think I've got to have that one, also. Help. Oh, and Louise Odier gives me heart palpitations. By the way, I bet my tiny apartment was crummier than your tiny apartment back when I was pregnant. It was in San Jose, CA, in July, and it was 93F in the living room. I was having morning sickness and we didn't even have screen doors, or heaven forbid, AC. So I went outside to where our car was parked in the weedy backyard, and sat in the d*mn car. My husband was in the army at that time, and I was still a college student. What a mess. Oh, the sweet memories--bah. Diane

Diane, Eustacia Vye is so similar to Augusta that I'd feel like I had betrayed her if I got that one. Am I crazy? I think I'd rather just order another Augusta, if she continues to do well here. If she can't take our winters, then, Eustacia V would be a perfect substitute.

We were probably living parallel lives in So. CA during our early married years. Sounds like you were about as well heeled as we were. We didn't expect to be any better off and knew the finer things would come with hard work and patience. But, boy, did we pay our dues!

Jim, it was too hot to garden today so I drove out to Northland and bought a Rozanne cranesbill and of course, I thought of you. I grew one before that crawled all over the rose bed before the deer got it. This one isn't a mound, and, the ones they had planted by the sales cottage were climbing all over the Limelight hydrangeas and reaching a good 4 to 5' tall. So, I'm just going to let it do whatever it wants.

How is your wife feeling today? I'm happy to hear the lithotripsy was successful. I think the recovery is harder on the patient than the actual procedure. I hope by now, she's starting to feel like herself again.

Blue girl. First bloom this year. This endured numerous freezes in May and June and got completely destroyed by hail in late June. It smells incredible!

L Clark, I admire anyone attempting to grow roses outside in zone 4. I know one person in zone 3 that grows all hers in pots, and then the roses are stored in the garage all winter. I think it's the beginning of July before she has blooms. Anyway, that's a lovely bloom for a very brave rose that persisted in spite of so much adversity. Do you grow any other roses? What does best for you?

Flowers, compared to my Mom, I had it very good, but that's another story. That's an interesting take on Eustacia Vye. I wish there were more pics of this rose to help me decide. Augusta is blooming away and growing like crazy. I hope our winter this year is a mild one. I am heartened by how things look now. Only a few laggards insist on taking it slow to bloom. It's been a comparatively easy summer so far. It was too breezy to spray on the deer repellent tonight, so of course, the deer will probably ruin everything. I will be beside myself if that happens. My granddaughter Jemma and I worked on photos tonight. We ran across a bunch that got "lost" on the memory card, so the photos I'll post in the next week or so will be as current as yesterday, or a few weeks old. I've taken waaaay too many photos. Here are some photos of Olivia who is coming into her own finally. Still too pale for me. Diane

Nanadoll- I’m brand new to roses. Yup, I’ve got a tough climate, yes, but I ain’t moving so I have to make the best of it. don’t ask how I ended up with hybrid teas lol, but I have a couple. I have a hope for humanity that didn’t die back and seems to be doing well in its second year from a 5 gal pot. I planted a bunch of other Canadian roses this summer so we’ll see !

Beautiful, L Clark, and more power to you. Is the beautiful red rose above Hope for Humanity? It looks great. Canadian roses should do well for you. I have some friends that were raised in Wyoming, and one friend talked about snow on July 4, and the trials of growing veggies with such a short growing season. She did live in a very cold part of your state, though. Diane

Diane, Olivia looks wonderful in your garden. Is she your lightest colored rose? I like the way her color plays with the yellow next to her. She looks like a great bloomer, and the blooms look like they're a good size, which I wasn't sure of. I think her blooms would look particularly nice in a bouquet with Love Song. I hope the deer have other dinner plans tonight and not your roses. I'm looking forward to more pics from you in the days to come.

L. Clark, you may be new to roses, but if you can grow Blue Girl in WY, you have the magic touch. I hope she will thrive for you for years to come. It's a beautiful rose and a lot of us in z5 and below would love to have that kind of success with her. I rely on the Canadian roses for their hardiness and just planted another one. Your Hope for Humanity looks like a big, healthy rose.

Flowers, thanks (yes, I'm still up wasting time). Eglantyne is about the same color as Olivia, so those two are my lightest. Olivia looks bigger in the photos than she is in real life. Her blooms are a lot smaller than Love Song's, which is among the largest bloomed roses I grow. I think those two would still look good together in a bouquet. Tomorrow, I've got to do some spraying. Every time I put it off, here the deer come. Diane

Diane - your Olivia looks fantastic! But I get what you say about the paler roses. I find the lighter roses bleach out in the sun & every blemish shows up on those pale petals. Many of my lighter blooms look dirty & dingy pretty quickly. And even the darker coloured roses are easily brightened in our intense summer sun. For example, I planted Charlotte last year and it is healthy and happy, but the blooms are closer to white than yellow regularly. It's still pretty, just very pale.

The photos of quietness are really pretty. I know a lot of people here seem to rave about this one. So it must be a really good rose overall!

Lilyfinch - the name you have chosen for your son is lovely. My son's middle name is James too. That was an easy one for us, because both of his grandfather's names are James. And my husband's & brother's middle name is James too. Glad to hear you are getting so much done. The room sounds like fun. I also love decorating interiors. That's what I work on in the non-gardening months! It's also great you found a new home for all your red roses you didn't want & someone else did the work for you!

Flowers - the comment about the raw beef neighbour kind of creeped me out! Was this person a bit odd in general or just odd about raw meat eating? I have a rozanne geranium & mine has been quite mannerly, so much so that it's actually still puny, lol!

ikaye - you have been working very hard by the sounds of it! That walkway with the arbours looks like it will be lovely when done. I can only do that kind of outside work in spring or fall. Midsummer is just too hot for that much manual labour!

Well we had a bit of extreme weather, hot & humid. But with very little rain. So I have just been trying to stay ahead on watering and maintenance. Today the weather is much nicer, less humid. We finally got our chillout zone done. My husband was going to build a pergola/privacy thing next spring. But we found a pergola with a sun screen that does the job just as well. So we bought that instead. Actually it was cheaper than all the lumber and supplies required. Also got some furniture a few weeks ago too. So long story short, I have been pretty lazy and just lazing about a lot!
I have a few random photos to add next. Not a lot of rose blooms right now. They are either resting or look awful due to weather or japanese beetles.

I am just amazed at the pictures you rose growers put up here. It always brightens my day to see such beautiful flowers. I love this forum. I've learned so much just from the year I've been reading. You guys and gals are great.

Can anyone comment on the hardiness of Quietness? I would like to give that a try. Sorry, I'm not up to speed on the rose gender pronoun thing... Anyway, I am pretty confident I could keep it alive by piling snow on top of it (that's how Blue Girl survived, turns out snow is an excellent insulator), but it would be neat if I could get a rose of Quietness's quality that didn't die back so hard. I've read so many great things about Quietness, I'm convinced it's got to be one of the best roses in the world.

Here's a few randoms, deck different views. Planters with palm, dahlias & annuals.

Wonderful photos all!

LOL on buying a Rozanne cranesbill Flowers! My wifes feeling better and better each day! Thanks!

Quietness is hardy zone 5a-9b according to helpmefind.com L Clark (zone 4 WY) .......Maybe down to zone 4 according to Heirloom roses... https://www.heirloomroses.com/quietness.html

Links to read:

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.36919

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.36919&tab=36

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.36919&tab=32

Not to be Debbie Downer, but Quietness isn't great for everyone. It will BS completely in some locales and experience a lot of die-back even here in 6b if it's already weakened. I have read this same thing elsewhere so it's not just me. Hopefully, I'll soon be trying another one and see if it does better. I've moved my current one to an even better spot so we'll see if that helps. Reporting back...... )) Beautiful pictures, everyone. Hallo, when can I come over to swim and hang out? That is so perfect.

HelloBlondie, I would be lazing about a lot, too, if I lived at your backyard resort. Your husband's talent for building and your talent for putting things together beautifully are a winning combination. I love that you can have comfortable furniture out there with that great pergola to protect it from birds and the elements. We just bought some patio furniture and my main concern was that I needed to be able to hose it off because there are so many birds here. Your planters are beautiful. I love palms, inside and out. That old neighbor of mine seemed fine except for eating raw meat and being a little nosy. I think she was just lonely. Sushi wasn't a thing back then, but maybe she was ahead of her time.

L. Clark, in my z5 semi rural garden with no protective fences or buildings, there is minimal tip damage to Quietness. Mine are own root and have never had any winter protection, even though both were planted in the fall and still very small when cold weather hit. There are a few here who have not had a good experience with this rose, and their input would be valuable to you. It very well could be one of the world's best roses, definitely one of Griffith Buck's best.

Jim, it's good to hear your wife is feeling better. That was quite an ordeal.

Vapor, we cross posted. I couldn't remember if it was you who wasn't thrilled with Quietness. I should have added to my post above that it is dry here, so black spot isn't a problem. I fear we are becoming less dry, however, because the last two summers have had more humidity than normal.

I don't think black spot is a thing here. Too cold, dry and growing season too short. Silver linings? lol

Wow! I just had to “come out of hiding” to say that all I can think about is that lady eating raw ground beef, and at room temperature, no less. I can’t get that gross image out of my head. Now that I think about it, my dad eats raw bacon on bread with butter, but only when my mom isn’t home to stop him. He claims that it’s been smoked, so it’s fine. It’s disgusting, but I guess hasn’t hurt him yet.

There are too many beautiful pictures for me to comment on, but they are all wonderful. HalloBlondie, your yard and deck are incredible! I’d like to vacation at your place. It really does look like a resort. I bet you’re really enjoying it.

Jim, I also think of you every time I see or mess with my Rozanne geraniums. Mine are just as Flowers described. They clamber over, up, and through everything around them. I don’t mind it, though. They bring a certain cohesiveness to that bed. I plant so many random plants so closely together, that the Rozanne geraniums help things look less hectic. I’m very glad that your wife is feeling better, Jim. I’ve been keeping her in my thoughts and prayers.

Rob, my heart goes out to you. Please take care of yourself, and do whatever it takes for you to get through this difficult time. We all care, and will be here whenever you’re up to returning. I take breaks from here myself, when life gets “too heavy”.

I have been mostly just taking a break lately. Last weeks terrible heat and humidity literally made me sick, so I ended up in bed with the A/C on for days. I did lots of TV watching and reading. It didn’t even cool down much in the evenings, so I just watered what I had to, and crawled back into my cave. It has now cooled down some, and the humidity has gone down, as well. I took a few pictures last night and this morning. It looks like my roses went right on blooming in the heat without my attention.

I wasn’t up to deadheading things, so I’m throwing caution to the wind. If I wait until everything is deadheaded and photo worthy, you won’t be seeing many photos from me. Here comes some au naturel photos:-) Lisa

Baronne Prevost is beginning her third? flush right now. I had forgotten that every time the temps go up, Baronne Prevost gets nasty little worms in her buds and blooms. They go for Baronne Prevost above all others. It’s frustrating, because her blooms are one of my favorites. Her scent is wonderful, and those old fashioned blooms just scream romance to me.

I love that button eye!

Darcey Bussell needs deadheading, but she’s such a bloomer in the heat. After her last flush, I pruned her way down to about 3-4F. She was getting too tall for her spot. Even with all the spent blooms on her, she’s still happily making more. I cut a few the other day, and combined them with some ‘Cherry Caramel’ Phlox. They’ve been on my nightstand for 3-4 days now, so they aren’t quite as pretty anymore. Today’s photo at least shows how how well the centers of ‘Cherry Caramel’ match Darcey’s blooms.

Here’s a shot of Mel’s Heritage on the slope. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach the sweet pea vine on the left. It’s a difficult area to maintain.

Golden Buddha is being ravaged by thrips. Note how bright the new bud is in the far upper right of the photo. The blooms change colors very quickly in the heat.

Love Song just blows me away with its heat tolerance. Love Song is in a container in full sun, all day long. I only water it every 3 days or so. Any rose that will bloom like this under those conditions is a winner in my book.

Thanks Lisa & Flowers!

One thing I've learned about here in my location L Clark (zone 4 WY) is that alot of the roses that are considered great do not work here for me NO SPRAY...lol... Then I had some roses considered NOT good/great actually do better...SO? Its a crap shoot!

So the bottom line is if I like a rose I just try it and see for myself...Cause nothing ventured nothing gained...lol

I'm going to START a NEW SUMMER THREAD....

Click here for new thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5758421/summer-is-here-seasonal-thread-part-5

Jim, I'm the same way or at least that's my excuse for having so many roses in such a short period of time! Some do improve with age and others remain BSy, but I keep because they quickly grow new leaves, bloom alot and smell divine. I am looking to relocate Darcey, however. She only looks great in the spring. I can't even spray her because she's next to the bird bath. : (( I got Milano and it also BSs which is surprising.. However, there are so many winners. L Clark, without BS, I imagine your main issue is cold and wind. If you get a lot of snow, that's a great insulator which helps with hardiness and freeze/thaw die-back in the spring.

Jim, were we having a problem? Just wondering why we're moving so soon. It's such good news that your wife is feeling better.

Blondie, thanks for your comment. I'll say that is a wonderful "hang out" area you all have put together. Have you considered a B&B so we on the forum can come out and stay a while? Haha. Don't want to frighten you. You're surrounding yard and plantings, not to mention the potted arrangements, really set off your new area. I love the furniture, too. That's a lot of had watering, I'll bet. I do quite a bit of that, too, and by the end of summer I've had it. Anyway, the whole area looks so well thought out and impressive.

Flowers, I agree about Blondie's back yard resort. I think we need to make a trip to Canada. Our patio and small deck are quite pitiful and crowded. It's very inadequate, and messy. I take care of all the gardening, so I'm not up for a redo of the whole thing. Well, I guess I'll move on to the new thread. Diane

No problems Nanadoll I just figure it might be easier for everyone around 100+ comments to just start a new thread...lol

I'm going to START a NEW SUMMER THREAD....

Click here for new thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5758421/summer-is-here-seasonal-thread-part-5